In the buildup to last Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, even the most gushing admirers of rookie 49er quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo anticipated a rough time. The Jaguars had allowed the fewest points and passing yards of any team in the NFL, and their defensive line, nicknamed “Sacksonville,” was so …
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The most unbelievable part of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s fledgling career in San Francisco is that it happened at all. In any other league, a player of such other-worldly talent would never have been traded for anything less than a king’s ransom, and yet the New England Patriots let the 49ers have him for a 2018 …
The Golden 1 Arena is still a gorgeous building, but unfortunately for Sacramento’s NBA fans, the Kings are still the Kings, and last night they lost in mostly the same way they did on the two occasions I saw them last year. They built a lead in the first half, coughed it up in the …
For those who love seeing their literary heroes in the flesh and obtaining their signatures on the title pages of newly purchased books, Wordstock is a paradise rivaling any other such event in these United States. This year’s festival took place the Saturday before last over a three-block area of downtown Portland, and while it …
For those of you who didn’t follow the Portland Trail Blazers last season, their biggest story was their February trade for Jusuf Nurkic, the Bosnian Beast and the West Coast’s answer to New York Knick sensation Kristaps Porzingis. With his shooting and rebounding, Nurkic turned around the Blazers’ season, helping them to an 18-8 record …
This last week, I happened to remember that Peanuts creator Charles Schulz lived in Santa Rosa, CA, so I did a quick search to check on the fate of his home and museum. The museum, with the bulk of Schulz’s original artwork and memorabilia, is intact, but his home was totally destroyed with his widow …
Photos posted today in The Atlantic of wildfires in the West. Portland residents may be particularly interested in those of the Eagle Creek fire along the Columbia River. The first two, taken from the Washington side of the river across from Cascade Locks, are quite dramatic. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/09/wildfires-rage-across-the-american-west/538977/ – Chuck Strom
The title is not a misprint. When I arrived in San Francisco to see the Giants on Friday, the temperature was 102 degrees. The high had been 106, smashing all previous records and reversing the normal weather pattern of cooling temperatures on the Bay inversely proportional to the summer heat of the Central Valley, as …
The Atlantic’s photo section just posted these pics of the damage from Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Gulf Coast: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/08/photos-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-harvey/538143/ Reported casualties were minimal after the first day, but it’s usually in the days and weeks following that we get a true indication of the scale of the disaster. In this case, the critical factor …
In July 2014, I had the privilege of visiting Charlottesville, VA to see Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia. I remember the visit fondly, but now my memory has to take into account the events of this past weekend. I attach these photos to remind myself that, in more peaceful times, it is …
Last Thursday evening, courtesy of a generous friend in the right place, I had the privilege of seeing the Oakland A’s three rows up from home plate. I’ve had some good seats in the past, but nothing nearly as up close and personal with major league ball players as this. The seats, in what is …
Great Politico podcast on the current catastrophe in Venezuela, which has flown under the radar a bit with all of the other international noise going on. You know things are bad when, as a journalist, you get picked up by the secret police and regard the situation with relief. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/07/democracy-die-venezuela-implosion-hannah-dreier-215467 – Chuck Strom
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, which depicts the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force in May 1940 from France, is a visual and auditory masterpiece, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Starting from the opening moments, with only the barest of credits to initiate the proceedings, the audience endures just under two hours of virtually …
The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals four games to one, but the series felt a lot closer than that. If the Cavs had managed to close out their late lead in Game 3 on their home court, they would likely have played a Game 6 there as well, …
Time to go out on a limb and predict that the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t win four in a row against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. They may win on Friday just to keep the Warriors from partying in their gym, but for all intents and purposes, they are done. For all …
During Game 2 of the NBA Finals, I was shocked, though maybe I shouldn’t have been, to see Stephen Curry score in the low post against LeBron: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-finals-highlights-steph-curry-dribbles-through-lebron-for-insane-layup-in-game-2/ The reason I was surprised was my memory of last year, when LeBron blocked Curry on a similar play and stared him down afterward: Not only are …
For those who haven’t been watching the 2017 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors lead the Cleveland Cavaliers two games to none in the best-of-seven series, and neither of the final scores of Games 1 and 2 were close. Detailed analyses on the proceedings can be found on the Ringer: https://theringer.com/2017-nba-finals-cleveland-cavaliers-golden-state-warriors-game-1-takeaways-33f69f2b4f63 https://theringer.com/2017-nba-playoffs-finals-game-2-warriors-cavaliers-takeaways-7f860d8d146c What we are …
Frank Deford, who passed away last week on Memorial Day, is familiar to most as the charming curmudgeon who commented on sports for NPR’s Morning Edition since 1980. A worthy career in itself, it was nothing compared to his work as a profile artist for Sports Illustrated, where he invariably found the essence of his …
On the occasion of the San Francisco Giants’ annual visit to Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the following regarding their victory in San Francisco last year in the National League Division Series: “I’m telling you, man, Game 4 pretty much won the World Series. I did not want to see Mr. Cueto …
On my visit to AT&T Park last month, I was watching the Giants take batting practice when I noticed something important: players would come to the end of the dugout to sign autographs. Armed with this knowledge, I arrived early enough to be one of the first people in the gates when they opened and …
Last Friday, the San Francisco Giants played the Cincinnati Reds in a game that went 17 innings and ended after midnight, when Buster Posey hit a home run and allowed everyone remaining to go home and get some much needed sleep. I stayed for 14 of those innings, leaving only because I didn’t want the …
As expected, the Golden State Warriors rolled over the Portland Trail Blazers with such confidence that a concert was scheduled at Oracle Arena on the same night that a Game 5 would have taken place. The handwriting on the wall was evident after Game 1, when Portland guards Damon Lillard and CJ McCollum shot the …
Just heard that Giant pitcher Madison Bumgarner just banged up his ribs and pitching shoulder on a dirt bike. Out six to eight weeks. A “What were you thinking?” moment if there ever was one. Reminiscent of former Giant second baseman Jeff Kent’s injury from popping wheelies during spring training in 2002. The Giants will …
For those who like to attend professional sports, the world has become increasingly segregated, with stadiums featuring luxury boxes and exclusive club sections with comforts and amenities above what is normally available to the average fan. Fortunately, at least at AT&T Park in San Francisco, it is possible occasionally to crash the party at an …
Given that last night’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship was played in a cavernous NFL stadium, it seems appropriate that it eventually resembled a football game, with lots of hard contact as North Carolina and Gonzaga struggled to deny each other anything close to an open shot. One has to wonder how much Portland native Nigel …
For most of the second half of the North Carolina/Oregon NCAA Men’s Semifinal on Saturday, the Ducks were ice cold from the field and beaten regularly on their own glass, yet they managed to cling to life by drawing fouls and going 25 for 28 from the line. As often happens in such games, their …
The two biggest takeaways from yesterday’s Round of 16 action was Oregon’s advancement in a nail-biter over Michigan and Arizona’s demise to #11 Xavier in a similarly close contest. Kansas still looks like the most dominant team in the tournament, which bodes ill for Oregon, its Elite Eight opponent. My bracket is still on track …
Found this item today buried in a Ringer article about the Oakland Raiders and their pending move to Las Vegas: the San Francisco Giants just sent their last mortgage check for AT&T Park without even issuing a new release to mark the occasion: http://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Giants-pay-off-AT-T-Park-prepare-for-another-10952512.php The windfall isn’t expected to impact the Giants greatly. The franchise …
The Gray Lady, otherwise known as the New York Times, posted a photo comparison between the current Sierra Nevada snowpack and that of two years ago: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/22/us/california-measuring-snowpack.html The difference is striking. Not that California’s out of the woods yet. The state used a lot of its groundwater to make up the shortfall two years ago, …
One of the noticeable characteristics of the NBA nowadays is the constant din of music, promotions, giveaways, and dance routines during a game. Hardly a moment, even during time-outs, is allowed to go empty, possibly out of the fear that if fans’ attention is allowed to lapse for even a second, they will lose interest …